American Clean Skies Foundation Plans Alexandria, VA Mixed-Use Complex

American Clean Skies Foundation proposed a $450 million project in Alexandria, VA three weeks ago that would replace an existing coal-fired power plant along the Potomac River into a mixed-used development. According to a New York Times article, despite not owning the property or the plant -- and without a developer having yet made an offer to acquire and redevelop them -- the foundation spent over $500,000 on architects, environmental and real estate specialists, and even a public relations agency to produce and promote what it calls Potomac River Green. The plant site is owned by Pepco, a regional electric utility, which operates a substation there.

GenOn Energy of Houston, which operates the plant under a 99-year lease from Pepco, announced yesterday that it had decided to close the 62-year-old coal-fired Potomac River Generating Station. GenOn has agreed to retire the generating station by October 1, 2012, or, if the plant is needed beyond that date for reliability purposes, as soon as it is no longer needed.

"Today's announcement is a path forward for both Alexandria and the power company that works for everybody, and truly reflects the interest of both parties," said Alexandria's Mayor William D. Euille. "Both the Alexandria City Council and community have worked extremely hard toward this goal, and we are very proud of the final result. This news strengthens Alexandria's future and opens the door to an enhanced quality of life for our residents."

Enter American Clean Skies Foundation. "We've looked at opportunities across the states for repurposing coal plants," said Gregory C. Staple, the foundation's chief executive. "We want to accelerate retirement of those inefficient and unscrubbed. Alexandria stands out." The proposed project would include 89,600 square feet of office space, 114,500 square feet for retail and restaurant use, plus 467 multifamily and 96 town house units, a 125-room hotel, recreational and open space, a center for alternative energy start-ups and a museum of the newest power technologies.

Bob Hainey, a Pepco spokesman, said before Tuesday's announcement that "the entrepreneurs at Clean Skies asked for the opportunity to present their ideas to Pepco, and we plan to meet with them in the near future."

For more news and information visit Bumberg Capital Partners.

Art Deco Seattle Tower Sold for $30.45M

LaeRoc Funds sold the Art Deco Seattle Tower at 1218 Third Ave. in Seattle this month for $30.45 million to Invesco Realty Advisors according to a Puget Sound Business Journal article. LaeRoc had purchased the property in April 2010 from Legacy Partners Realty Fund II for $20.65 million. Legacy, in turn, had acquired the building from Trinity Real Estate and Helix Investment Partners in August 2006 for just over $36 million.

The Art Deco Seattle Tower, built in 1929, is a 23-story Art Deco office high-rise located in the Seattle CBD. The building underwent significant seismic repairs and upgrades (prior to Legacy purchasing the property) caused by damage from the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake. The tower includes 189,931 square feet of office space and 13,320 square feet of retail space with occupancy at 85% accoding to OfficeSpace.com.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Anglo Irish Bank Sells $9.5B US Loans

Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Lone Star Funds were the winning bidders on the $9.5 billion pool of U.S. commercial real estate loan sold by Anglo Irish Bank Corp. with debt related to some 250 properties, including marquee names ranging from the Apthorp, a landmark Manhattan residential building, to a Beverly Hills, Calif., shopping center to the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago according to a Wall Street Journal article. Other bidders included Blackstone Group LP, TPG Capital, Starwood Capital Group, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG. The sale marks one of the biggest since the downturn in U.S. commercial real estate four years ago.

Anglo Irish Bank had been looking to unload the portfolio since the Irish government took control of the bank in January 2009. The bank had reported last week that it lost €101 million in the six months ended June 30th, far below the €8 billion loss it recorded for the same period last year.

According to Bloomberg, the trio will take on the portfolio of $9.65 billion in U.S. loans. It wasn't disclosed what the consortium bid for the assets, though some speculate 80 cents on the dollar would be a good price. "If you're looking at quality assets in good, strong markets, I'd say 80 cents on the dollar sounds pretty reasonable," said Tom Craig, founder of TSC Realty Partners, a commercial-property broker in Seattle who wasn't involved in the sale. "One of the barriers to entry on a big deal like this is how many people can put the capital together to buy this and close quickly."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Fitch Ratings Shows Fewer CMBS Due in 2012

Fitch Ratings has released their latest finding on the U.S. commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) sector with some encouraging news for the coming year as fewer loans are coming due in 2012. In transactions rated by Fitch, approximately 1,200 commercial mortgage loans totaling $17.3 billion are scheduled to mature in 2012, representing a sizeable drop compared to 2,000 loans totaling $22.5 billion that matured in 2011. The largest concentration of maturing loans in 2012 will come from loans secured by office properties, representing 38% of impending maturities reported the Wall Street Journal.

Fitch continues to expect the majority of loans to payoff at maturity despite the short term volatility of the capital markets. "Most maturing loans, particularly those from earlier vintages, benefit from stable performance and years of scheduled amortization, which make them more easily financeable in today's market," said Adam Fox, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings. The most challenging loans to refinance are those that were originated in 2007, the peak of real estate values. "Borrowers will likely need to contribute additional equity to secure financing for five-year loans."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

NAR Sees Modest Improvement in CRE Market

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released its latest observations on the conditions of the real estate markets, the Commercial Real Estate Outlook, and noted that commercial real estate vacancy rates are flat with moderate projections for growth and modest improvements expected over the coming year. NAR forecasts vacancies to decline 0.3 percentage point in the office sector, 0.6 point in industrial real estate, 0.7 point in the retail sector and 0.9 percentage point in the multifamily rental market.

"Disappointing economic growth in recent months means a slower recovery for most of the commercial real estate sectors, although multifamily housing continues to benefit from pent-up demand resulting from an abnormal slowdown in household formation in recent years," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "Many young people, who normally would have struck out on their own from 2008 to 2010, had been doubling up with roommates or moving back into their parents' homes. However, they've been entering the rental market as new households in stronger numbers this year. As a result, apartment vacancy rates are declining and rents are rising at faster rates."

Particular to the office market, NAR observed:

- Vacancy rates in the office sector are forecast to fall from 16.6% in the third quarter of this year to 16.3% in the third quarter of 2012.

- The markets with the lowest office vacancy rates currently are Washington, D.C., with a vacancy rate of 8.6%; New York City, at 10.1%; and Long Island, N.Y., 13.0%.

- Office rents are expected to rise 0.8% in 2011 and another 1.5% next year. Net absorption of office space in the U.S., which includes the leasing of new space coming on the market as well as space in existing properties, is projected to be 28.3 million square feet this year.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Prologis Sells $118M Portfolio to Clarion

San Francisco-based Prologis, Inc. sold a 2.8 million square foot industrial portfolio to Clarion Partners for $118 million this month reports the Dener Post. The 13 properties, with an average 90% leased, are located in nine markets including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dallas, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Tracy, CA. CB Richard Ellis brokered the deal.

A spokesperson for Clarion said there is no breakdown of value for each of the properties. GlobeSt.com discovered that the portfolio includes: the Patterson Pass Business Park #8 and #10 in Tracy, CA; Crossroads Corp. Center #1 and #3 and the Salt Lake International Distribution Center #8 in Salt Lake City; Kyrene Commons #3 in Tempe, AZ; Tri-County Distribution Center #1 in Schertz, AZ; the Waters Ridge Distribution Center #1 in Lewisville, TX; the Plainfield Park Building #3A in Plainfield, IN; the Capital Park South Distribution Center #4 in Grove City, OH; the West Chester Commerce Park #2 in West Chester, OH; the Princeton Distribution Center #1 in Cincinnati; and the Progress Distribution Center #1 in Lawrenceville, GA.

"This disposition is part of our continuing program to enhance investor returns in our private capital funds," said Guy F. Jaquier, chief executive officer of Prologis Private Capital. "We are selectively selling properties where we have maximized value or where they no longer fit our strategic goals and objectives."

Prologis owns or has investments in properties of about 600 million square feet in 22 countries, according to the company. Its corporate headquarters moved to San Francisco from Denver following a merger with AMB Property Corp. but its operations headquarters remain in Denver.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

13 Building Westchase Corporate Park Sold in Houston

PS Business Parks, Inc., a self-advised and self-managed equity REIT, sold Westchase Corporate Park in Houston, Texas for $9.8 million to a joint venture according to a Houston Business Journal article. The JV, AF Westchase LLC, is led by Adler Real Estate Fund and TriGate Capital. Adler Real Estate Fund is a discretionary fund managed by Adler Group, a Florida-based commercial real estate firm, and TriGate Capital is a national real estate private equity firm based in Dallas. PS Business Parks was represented by the Houston and Dallas offices of CB Richard Ellis in the transaction while the AF Westchase was represented by Matthew L. Adler, Chief Investment Officer of Adler Group and Jeffrey Yarckin, Managing Member of TriGate Capital.

Westchase Corporate Park, located at 11201 Richmond Ave. in the Westchase District, is a 176,977 square-foot business complex comprised of small bay offices and flex buildings. The district is home to the global headquarters for Honeywell and Western Geophysical, and other high-profile tenants including Men's Warehouse, MI Swaco, BMC Software, American Express, GE Capital and JP Morgan Chase.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

$223M Mixed-Use Development Planned for Huber Heights

Developer 201 Corridor Management LLC had its plans for a multimillion dollar retail, entertainment and office complex in Huber Heights, Ohio approved this past Friday according to a Columbus Business Journal article.

"The 150 acre site plan just north of the intersection of I-70 and State Route 201 will be populated with high-end, first class retail tenants, similar to developments in the Dublin area near Columbus," said Gary Adams, Huber Heights City Manager. William Jump, a 201 Corridor Management partner, said the project "will be a visionary, green, and open spaced, mixed-use development, and will make it unique in the greater Dayton area."

The complex, called "The Heights," is part of the 201 Corridor Project in Huber Heights and it is expected to create 2,175 jobs, including 200 temporary construction jobs. The Heights will encompass 167 acres and feature 750,000-square-feet of retail, restaurant, entertainment, hospitality, residential and office space according to preliminary plans. The full development plan for the development is available for review here.

According to the report, the project will be delivered in four phases:

Phase 1 — a $33.5 million development featuring 30,000 square feet of inline neighborhood space, a 50,000-square-foot 10-screen movie theater, a 7,500-square-foot restaurant, two 2,500-square-foot drive-thru restaurants and two 32,000-square-foot retail stores;

Phase 2 — a $70.6 million development featuring two 110,000-square-foot retail stores, four 32,000-square-foot retail stores, two 7,500-square-foot sit-down restaurants and two 5,000-square-foot neighborhood sit-down restaurants;

Phase 3 — an $87.8 million development featuring a 172,000-square-foot hotel and convention center, an 80,000-square-foot limited service hotel and three 75,000-square-foot office buildings; and

Phase 4 — a $31.7 million development featuring three 75,000-square-foot office buildings.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Boston Office Building Sold for $57M

Hines Global REIT agreed to purchase an office building in Canton, MA just outside of Boston for $57 million, or $308 per square foot, according to a CoStar report. Inland American Real Estate Trust sold the property at 250 Royall Street after it originally traded hands in 2009 when Inland Western sold it to Inland Communications Inc. for $62.63 million. Hines Global expects to fund the acquisition using proceeds from its current public offering.

250 Royall Street covers 185,171 square feet of rentable space that is currently 100% leased to Computershare Limited, a lease that expires in May 2019. Hines Global expects the closing of this acquisition to occur in the third quarter of 2011, subject to completing a number of closing conditions.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

H&R REIT Purchase Two Gotham Center for $416M

H&R REIT, an open-ended real estate investment trust, has entered into an agreement to acquire Two Gotham Center in Long Island City, New York for $415.5 million according to a Winnipeg Free Press article. The property represents the first building of the newly built Gotham Center - a 2-block, 3.5 million square foot development that is part of a budding rehabilitation effort in Long Island City. The purchase price equates to an estimated year one, stabilized capitalization rate of 5.85%.

H&R REIT's President and CEO, Tom Hofstedter said: "Considering the unprecedented global demand for superior New York properties, we are thrilled that we were able to enter into an agreement to acquire this trophy asset and secure such exceptional mortgage financing."

Designed by Moed De Armas & Shannon of New York, Two Gotham Center was developed and owned by Tishman Speyer, in a partnership with Square Mile Capital and the Modell family. The recently completed Two Gotham Center tower comprises 661,000 rentable square feet of office space and is 100% leased to the City of New York for an initial term of 20 years with contracted rental escalations of approximately 8% every 5 years.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Sabal Acquires $212M Loan Portfolio

Sabal Financial Group, a financial services firm formerly named Milestone Asset Resolution Co., announced this week that it had acquired a $212 portfolio from an unnamed major Midwest retail bank. While details of the purchase were not disclosed, Sabal stated that the portfolio included over 100 loans, both performing and non-performing, and was primarily secured by retail, office and industrial properties, and land with major concentrations in in Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida.

"We are currently responding to an influx of asset valuation assignments and loan portfolio acquisition opportunities," said R. Patterson ("Pat") Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Sabal Financial Group. "This particular acquisition extends our presence in both the Midwest and Southeastern United States."

Sabal Financial is responsible for loan servicing and asset management of the portfolio according to a GlobeSt.com article. Along with the portfolio acquisition, Sabal has added commercial real estate veteran Kevin McKenzie as a portfolio manager for the company's growing commercial real estate portfolio.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Crystal City Buildings Get $118M Loan

Lowe Enterprises, owner of Century Center I and II in Crystal City, VA just minutes over the bridge from Washington, DC, received a $118 million refinance loan on the properties arranged by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) according to a Washington Business Journal article. HFF secured the five-year, adjustable-rate loan through Wells Fargo Bank, the proceeds of which were used to refinance an existing loan and fund future leasing and capital expenditures.

"Century Center's renovation and repositioning, which included creating a retail promenade extending down Crystal Drive, demonstrates Lowe's commitment to the property and the Crystal City submarket," said Cary Abod, managing director with HFF.

Century Center I and II covers 560,207 square feet of office space, 65,797 square feet of retail space and a three-level, 1,494-space underground parking garage. Lowe originally acquired the property on behalf of a pension fund client in 2004 and recently completed a $30 million renovation to improve building systems and curb appeal. Major tenants include Raytheon, GSA, and Northrop Grumman.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Sarimsakci Moves Forward with Plans for Dallas Property

Turkish developer Mukemmel "Mike" Sarimsakci met with city officials last week to present his plans for the redevelopment of 1401 Elm Street in Dallas, TX, a project that required the city to approve $30 million in TIF funds for the contract to purchase the property to move forward. The request was approved unanimously. According to a Dallas Business Journal article, the plot of land currently houses a 52-story, 1.3-million-square-foot office building that has been vacant since January 2010 and is expected to be demolished to make way for the new project this October.

Sarimsakci says construction will be completed in January 2014 under 1401 Elm Street Holdings LLC; part of the TIF fund contingency also stipulates that the developer will invest at least $125,000,000 into the new property which is planned to include ground-level retail, office space and residential apartments. "I think the fact that [Dallas] is pro-business, pro-development, and everyone is eager to create jobs," he told the Dallas Observer.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

$380M Refinancing for Chelsea Market in NYC

CB Richard Ellis' Capital Markets Group secured a $380 million in conjunction with the recapitalization of Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan on behalf of Jamestown Properties according to a Citybizlist article. The loan, financed through Germany's Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, was used by Jamestown to buy out its partners in the property, Angelo, Gordon & Co., Belvedere Capital and original Chelsea Market developer Irwin Cohen.

"Lending on Manhattan assets is seen as less risky than other markets and that's been evident through the downturn," Dan Fasulo, managing director with global commercial real estate research and consulting firm Real Capital Analytics, told Commercial Property Executive. "Of the troubled assets we had in the country, Manhattan had the highest recovery rate for lenders when there was a default. It's proven to be rather resilient versus other markets."

The mixed-use property was originally a 22-building complex that served as the National Biscuit Company (now known as Nabisco) factory complex, filling two entire blocks. Chelsea Market was 99% occupied at the time of closing with major tenants including Google, Scripps Networks, Major League Baseball, EMI and Anthropologie.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

WRIT Sells DC Area Portfolio for $350M

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT), the oldest publicly traded REIT in the country, has entered into several contracts with a single buyer to sell off its entire industrial portfolio along with two office properties. The $350 million portfolio, totalling roughly 3.1 million square feet, was picked up by AP AG Portfolio LLC, a partnership led by AREA Property Partners Value Enhancement Fund VII LP and Adler Group Inc. according to a CoStar report.

The contracts consist of five separate purchase and sale agreements, each covering one or more separate assets. Three of the contracts (which aggregate to $235.7 million of assets) are expected to close on or about September 1, 2011. An additional contract (representing $44.6 million of assets) is expected to close on or about October 3, 2011. The final contract (representing $69.7 million of assets) is expected to close on or about November 1, 2011.

"In initiating these sale transactions, WRIT has taken a major step towards executing on a strategic goal we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year. Having our industrial portfolio under these contracts enables us to focus our attention on redeploying expected sales proceeds in assets that better fit our long term strategy of acquiring properties inside the Beltway, near major transportation nodes and in areas with strong employment drivers and superior growth demographics," said George F. "Skip" McKenzie, President and CEO of WRIT.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Wells Fargo Wins Bid for $1.4B CRE Portfolio

Wells Fargo & Co. had the winning bid for the Bank of Ireland's commercial real estate portfolio, consisting of 25 loans for properties in Boston, New York and DC, picking up the portfolio for $1.4 billion according to a Wall Street Journal report. The loans were sold near their face value. The sale is part of Bank of Ireland's deleveraging efforts; in March Bank of Ireland was ordered by the country's financial regulator to cut its portfolio by a quarter after hitting financial difficulty

A spokesman for Wells Fargo declined to comment, as did a broker for HFF LP, which handled the Bank of Ireland sale according to the WSJ. This is the second acquisition this year by Wells Fargo of an Irish bank's CRE loan portfolio. The San Francisco-based financial services institution had previously teamed with Blackstone Group LP to buy approximately $1 billion in CRE loans from Allied Irish Banks PLC.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Hines Building Bryant Park Office Tower

Hines announced this week that it would partner with Pacolet Milliken Enterprises, Inc. to develop a new office tower at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 40th Street, across from Bryant Park according to a CoStar report. The 450,000 square foot tower is expected to begin construction next year and be ready for occupancy as early as 2014. Designed by architects Henry N. Cobb and Yvonne Szeto of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the 28 story building will offer a "singular opportunity for mid-sized tenants in the midtown market," said Hines Senior Vice President Tommy Craig, head of the firm's New York/Tri-State region.

Pacolet Milliken President Richard C. Webel added, "Our Company and its ownership families are proud to be part of a project that we believe will contribute to the Bryant Park environment. We are equally proud that the building responds to the challenge from Roger Milliken, our founding chairman, to create a uniquely distinguished design that reaches for a high level of sustainability."

According to Cobb, "The building was conceived in response to the extraordinary circumstance of its location at the corner of Bryant Park. The hourglass façade detail will be a lens through which building occupants can view the park with dramatic and alluring immediacy."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tempe Mixed Use Property Sold For $4M+

Castle & Cooke Inc. sold a mixed-use office/retail complex in Tempe, Arizona for nearly $4.1 million to a joint venture between Via West Properties LLC and Southwest Value Partners according to a Phoenix Business Journal article. Cushman & Wakefied of Arizona Inc. represented both sides in the transaction.

The three-building complex at Kyrene and Elliot roads includes 96,600 square feet of office space, currently vacant, and 15,360 square feet of retail space, now 55% occupied with tenants including FedEx Kinko's and Edward Jones Investments. "We are very excited about the ability to acquire such a high quality and functional asset at a basis that enables us to be very aggressive in our leasing efforts," said Via West Managing Partner Steven Schwarz.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Dallas Office/Retail Crescent Complex Gets $205M Loan

Crescent Real Estate Equities LLC, a real estate company owned by Barclays Capital and Goff Capital based in Fort Worth, has secured a new $205 million mortgage loan for its office and retail complex in Dallas known as The Crescent, marking one of the largest real estate loans in Dallas in years according to a Dallas Morning News report. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. provided the loan for The Crescent; Crescent Real Estate Equities also recently took out a loan from Northwest Mutual Life Insurance for $93 million for it's Trammell Crow Center in Dallas.

The Crescent, located on the edge of Dallas' Central Business District, totals 1,134,826 square feet of rentable space in 3 contiguous buildings with a 19-story center structure and two adjoining 18-story structures. Major tenants of the property include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, SmithBarney, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and J.P. Morgan. The complex, originally built in 1986, also includes the Crescent Court Hotel, and reportedly cost an estimated $400 million to develop.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Kingdom Holding Moves Forward with World's Tallest Building, Kingdom Tower

Kingdom Holding Company, the investment firm led by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, announced this week that it has signed a 4.2 billion riyal ($1.23 billion) deal a deal to build the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, selecting Saudi Binladen Group to build the structure according to a Daily Mail article. Kingdom Tower, expected to stand at least 3,280 feet tall (the exact final height is still a closely guarded secret), will loom larger than Dubai's Burj Khalifa making it the world's tallest building upon completion. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, designed the 5.7 million square foot building; Adrian Smith, previously of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, also designed the Burj Khalifa.

Smith told the Huffington Post of the project that "there's something very special about being the world's tallest building. Everyone wants to be able to do one. I think in this situation there is a development going around the tower -- a $29 billion development -- and this tower acts as a catalyst for that development. Putting such a tall tower in first actually increases the land value around the tower, so even if you don't make a lot of money on the tower itself you'll make money on the land."

"Building this tower in Jeddah sends a financial and economic message that should not be ignored," Prince Alwaleed told reporters. "It has a political depth to it to tell the world that we Saudis invest in our country despite what is happening around us from events, turmoil and revolutions even."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Ashburn Technology Park Lot Sold for $17M

St. John Properties sold a 38-acre land parcel in the Ashburn Technology Park in Ashburn, VA for $17 million according to a Washington Business Journal article. The Baltimore-based developer sold the land to Sabey Data Center Properties, privately owned data center developers and operators based in Seattle, WA.

Ashburn Technology Park currently consists of six research and development /office buildings comprising more than 320,000 square feet of space. Sabey announced in June that it has plans to build a 490,000 square foot data center campus within the complex with construction to begin late this summer. The campus will feature three buildings and will be served with over 70 megawatts of power, accommodating tenants with varying design challenges and power requirements.

"Ashburn Technology Park offers the perfect confluence of electric power, Internet network fiber, water and by-right use for this customized operation, and the business community is positioned in the middle of the Northern Virginia hi-tech employment base with close proximity to Dulles Airport and Washington, D.C.," said Larry Maykrantz, President of St. John Properties. "Sabey Data Center Properties is a well recognized and highly regarded company, and their significant investment of resources will stimulate tremendous growth opportunities for our existing tenants, as well as the Northern Virginia business marketplace."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

San Francisco's Hawthorne Plaza Sold to Manulife Real Estate

A joint venture of Hines and RREEF sold Hawthorne Plaza in downtown San Francisco to Manulife Real Estate, the real estate arm of Manulife Financial Corporation, at the close of last month according to a CoStar report. While the price of the sale was not disclosed, CoStar did reveal that the JV originally acquired the property in December 2007 for $186 million, or approximately $416 per square foot.

"We are truly delighted to add a property as significant as Hawthorne Plaza to Manulife's global real estate investment portfolio," said Kevin Adolphe, Chief Operating Officer of Manulife Financial's Investment Division and President and CEO of Manulife Real Estate. "San Francisco is one of the target growth areas for our Company's real estate business. The acquisition of Hawthorne Plaza is the latest step in our ongoing strategy to invest in core office properties to complement our growing portfolio across the United States, Canada and Asia."

The 441,000-square-foot office complex at 75 Hawthorne St. achieved LEED-EB Gold Certification in May of 2009 and is targeted to undergo significant renovations with an aim to pursue LEED-EB Platinum status. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the property's anchor tenant occupying approximately 285,000 square feet for the agency's Southwest Regional Headquarters.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.